Alba supporters are urged to keep debate civilised by leader

Alex Salmond has encouraged his supporters and campaigners to engage in “civilised” debate during the election campaign.

Since the Alba Party was launched last week, two candidates have been criticised for comments they made online, with one referring to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as a “cow”.

Economist Dr Jim Walker, who is standing for the party on the Central Scotland regional list, made the comment on Twitter before the announcement of his candidacy. It related to a video of an interview of the first minister in which she referred to Mr Salmond as a “gambler”.

Dr Walker was quick to apologise for the comment, claiming he was “mortified” by it.

The fledgling party has been rocked by controversy from the start and some candidates have been challenged over previous comments made online.

Boxer Alex Arthur, standing in Lothian, apologised for offensive remarks about Romanian “beggars” in Edinburgh.

Former SNP justice secretary Kenny MacAskill has previously been openly hostile to Ms Sturgeon’s leadership. He refuses to stand down as MP in his East Lothian constituency, saying he will carry on in both roles if elected to Holyrood.

Mr Salmond said Alba could help the SNP achieve its goal of independence. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has so far ruled out any legal grounding from the UK Government for a second referendum.

Asked to explain what Alba would do in parliament, Mr Salmond said: “There’s a whole range of actions.

“You can look at how you mobilise the legitimacy that comes from a parliamentary majority to look at firstly referendums and plebiscites that can be held by the Scottish Parliament.

“You can look at international opinion, you can look at legal action in the Scottish courts, you can look at international legal action, you can look at mobilising peaceful demonstrations in Scotland.”